The Scarlet Watch from Elkie Atherton The Tropes: Dissecting the Stereotypes of Our Screen Welcome back to the Scarlet Watch, in this addi�on I’m doing something quite different. I’m going to break down our favourite tropes and see the deeper meanings behind them; explaining how to combat these tropes because of the nega�ve impacts on real-life these stereotypes have. I hope you enjoy this ar�cle. This ar�cle was inspired by the YouTube channel The Take so if you are looking for more content like this, I would recommend them. Bad Boys: The trope of a Bad Boy love interest falling for a girl who fixes him is a tale as old as �me – reference very much intended. The Bad Boy stands out. He doesn’t care but he’s s�ll likeable and is not inclined to have “normal” morals. This sets him apart from the nice guy. He’s caring in an odd sort of way. The Bad Boy is strong, silent, mysterious and a�rac�ve. Men want to be him; women want to sleep with him. He is the pinnacle of heteronorma�ve masculinity.
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He is a myth. His charisma jus�fies his danger. Tragic and genuinely fragile under his hard exterior. The love of a good girl is all he needs. A woman’s love and hard work can fix a man’s bad behaviour. These ideas date back to Greek mythology. It’s roman�cizing toxic rela�onships and condi�oning women to expect this behaviour to find their Prince Charming. Men in real life who exhibit this toxic behaviour usually aren’t secretly sensi�ve souls and women don’t owe men their hard work for a glimpse at a be�er man. Intriguing as he is on screen the bad boy isn’t always the way to go and should remain what he is: a fantasy.
